PRINTER'S NO. 375
No. 329 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BROWNE,
BUXTON, CAPPELLI, CORRIGAN, COSTA, COY, CRUZ, CURRY, DeWEESE,
DIVEN, EACHUS, GRUCELA, HALUSKA, HARHAI, HERSHEY, HORSEY,
HUTCHINSON, JAMES, KIRKLAND, LEACH, MARKOSEK, MELIO, MUNDY,
PALLONE, PETRARCA, PISTELLA, READSHAW, SCHRODER, SHANER,
SOLOBAY, STABACK, SURRA, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, WALKO,
WANSACZ, WATSON, YOUNGBLOOD AND GERGELY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, FEBRUARY 18, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, further providing for shared-ride program for
3 persons with disabilities; and making an appropriation.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Subchapter A heading of Chapter 80 of Title 75 of
7 the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 SUBCHAPTER A
9 PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES SHARED-RIDE [PILOT] PROGRAM
10 Section 2. Section 8001 of Title 75 is amended to read:
11 [§ 8001. Persons with disabilities shared-ride pilot program.
12 The department shall establish or administer a shared-ride
13 pilot program for persons with disabilities, authorizing grants
14 to eligible applicants as determined by the department. The
15 department is further authorized to take any action that will
16 facilitate the gathering or analyzing of information developed
1 by the pilot program.]
2 Section 3. Title 75 is amended by adding sections to read:
3 § 8001. Short title of subchapter.
4 This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the
5 Persons with Disabilities Shared-Ride Program Act.
6 § 8002. Legislative intent.
7 It is the intent of the General Assembly and the purpose of
8 this subchapter is to increase public transportation
9 opportunities for Pennsylvania citizens who are under 65 years
10 of age and who have certain disabilities. Grants made by this
11 program are intended to supplement and shall not supplant
12 existing transportation funds or existing transportation
13 services for persons with disabilities.
14 § 8003. Definitions.
15 The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
16 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
17 context clearly indicates otherwise:
18 "County transportation system." Buses, vans or other transit
19 vehicles purchased, maintained and operated by a county or its
20 agents and used to provide free or reduced rate transportation
21 within the county to eligible persons with disabilities.
22 "Eligible applicant." A provider of shared-ride programs for
23 the elderly, county, county transportation system,
24 transportation authority, local transportation organization,
25 municipality, transportation company or urban common carrier
26 mass transportation provider.
27 "Fixed-route public transportation services." Regularly
28 scheduled transportation that is available to the general public
29 and is provided according to published schedules along
30 designated published routes with specified stopping points for
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1 the taking on and discharging of passengers. Eligible services
2 include public bus and commuter rail systems. The term does not
3 include exclusive ride taxi service, charter or sightseeing
4 services, nonpublic transportation and school bus or limousine
5 services.
6 "Local transportation organization." A municipality or mass
7 transportation, port, redevelopment or airport authority
8 organized under the laws of Pennsylvania or pursuant to an
9 interstate compact or otherwise empowered to render, contract
10 for the rendering or assist in the rendering of transportation
11 service in a limited area in this Commonwealth, even though it
12 may also render or assist in rendering transportation service in
13 adjacent states.
14 "Person with disabilities." An individual with a physical,
15 sensory or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
16 more major life activities which may prevent the person from
17 transporting himself or engaging in regularly provided public
18 transportation systems.
19 "Program." Shared-ride public transportation services for
20 persons with disabilities established by this subchapter.
21 "Provider." An eligible applicant that applies for and is
22 approved for grant funds under this subchapter.
23 "Shared-ride public transportation services." The term shall
24 include demand-responsive transportation that is available to
25 the general public, operates on a nonfixed-route basis and
26 charges a fare to all riders. For transportation to be included
27 in this term, the first fare-paying passengers to enter the
28 public transportation vehicle may not refuse to share the
29 vehicle with other passengers during a given trip. The term does
30 not include exclusive ride taxi service, charter or sightseeing
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1 services, nonpublic transportation and school bus or limousine
2 services.
3 "Transit vehicle." A self-propelled or electrically
4 propelled vehicle designed for carrying four or more passengers,
5 exclusive of the driver, other than a taxicab, designed and used
6 for the transportation of persons for compensation.
7 "Transportation company." A person, firm or corporation
8 rendering public passenger service, with or without the
9 rendering of another service, in this Commonwealth pursuant to
10 common carrier authorization from the Pennsylvania Public
11 Utility Commission or the Interstate Commerce Commission.
12 "Urban common carrier mass transportation." Transportation
13 within an area that includes a municipality or other built-up
14 place which is appropriate, in the judgment of the department,
15 for a common carrier transportation system to serve commuters or
16 others in the locality, taking into consideration the local
17 patterns and trends of urban growth, by bus or rail or other
18 conveyance, either publicly or privately owned, serving the
19 general public, but not including school buses or charter or
20 sightseeing services.
21 § 8004. Persons with Disabilities Shared-Ride Program.
22 (a) Power and duty of department.--The department shall
23 establish and administer a program authorizing grants to
24 eligible applicants that agree to provide shared-ride public
25 transportation services to eligible persons with disabilities.
26 As part of the program, the department shall:
27 (1) Establish a process through which potential
28 providers receive notice of the program, are given the
29 opportunity to submit grant proposals and are evaluated based
30 on eligibility criteria established by this subchapter.
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1 (2) Award grants to providers that meet the eligibility
2 criteria established by this subchapter.
3 (3) Enter into contracts with providers that meet the
4 eligibility criteria established by this subchapter.
5 (b) Request for proposal process.--The department shall
6 establish a request for proposal process wherein notice of the
7 program is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, eligible
8 applicants are given an opportunity to submit proposals and the
9 proposals are evaluated. For any eligible applicant to receive
10 grant funds under the program, the applicant's proposal must
11 demonstrate each of the following:
12 (1) The applicant has the ability to provide shared-
13 ride, point-to-point accessible services for eligible persons
14 with disabilities.
15 (2) The applicant has the ability to limit access to the
16 program to those eligible persons with disabilities.
17 (3) The applicant has the ability to administer the
18 program such that eligible persons with disabilities pay no
19 more than 15% of the full-fare cost of the transportation.
20 (4) The applicant has the ability to implement an
21 eligibility verification process to ensure that access to the
22 program is limited to eligible persons with disabilities.
23 (5) The applicant has the ability to compile such
24 information as the department may require.
25 (6) The applicant has the ability to solicit and receive
26 public participation from persons with disabilities in the
27 development of the application and the planning,
28 implementation and administration of the program.
29 (7) The applicant has the ability to serve either
30 portions of a county that are rural in nature or portions of
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1 a county not currently served by fixed-route public
2 transportation services.
3 (c) Grant awards.--The department may award grants to any
4 provider that meets the eligibility criteria in subsection (b),
5 provided that, in determining grant awards, the department
6 shall:
7 (1) Ensure that applicants from rural, suburban and
8 urban areas of this Commonwealth are considered for grant
9 funds.
10 (2) Give priority to applicants whose service areas are
11 rural in nature or whose service areas are not currently
12 served by fixed-route public transportation services.
13 (3) Give priority to applicants that have the ability to
14 provide or coordinate services across county lines.
15 (d) Limitation on grant amounts.--Grants authorized to a
16 provider under this subchapter shall be limited to an amount
17 equal to 85% of the total cost of each provider's program.
18 Individuals utilizing the program shall contribute the remaining
19 15% through fares.
20 (e) Agreement.--The department may enter into an agreement
21 with any provider that meets the criteria under subsections (b)
22 and (c) to award grant funds under this subchapter. The
23 agreement shall include terms requiring that grant funds be used
24 in accordance with the proposal submitted to the department by
25 the provider. The time, payment, amount and any other conditions
26 on the receipt of the grant funds shall be set forth in the
27 agreement.
28 § 8005. Program review.
29 (a) Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.--The
30 Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall conduct a
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1 performance audit to assess whether the program enhances the
2 mobility of persons with disabilities. The findings of the
3 performance audit shall be presented to the General Assembly no
4 later than two years after the effective date of this
5 subchapter.
6 (b) Department report.--The department shall submit an
7 annual report to the Transportation Committee of the Senate, the
8 Transportation Committee of the House of Representatives, the
9 Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the Appropriations
10 Committee of the House of Representatives, which at a minimum
11 shall include:
12 (1) Total number of riders.
13 (2) Total number of rides provided per month.
14 (3) Number of providers.
15 (4) Percentage of population served.
16 (5) Geographical coverage of shared-ride usage.
17 (6) Customer satisfaction.
18 (7) Total monthly expenditures.
19 (8) Total cost per ride.
20 (9) Required subsidy per passenger.
21 (10) Required subsidy per mile.
22 (11) Breakdown of what type of shared-ride services are
23 being provided.
24 § 8006. Construction.
25 Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as creating or
26 providing any individual with an entitlement to services.
27 Services under this subchapter shall be made available only to
28 the extent of availability and level of appropriations made by
29 the General Assembly.
30 Section 4. The sum of $6,000,000 is hereby appropriated from
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1 the moneys received from the Master Settlement Agreement to the
2 Department of Transportation for the purpose of administering
3 the Persons with Disabilities Shared-Ride Program established in
4 this act.
5 Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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